


Juno

by TBCat



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Accidental Relationship, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fantasy, M/M, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-06-25 15:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19748629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TBCat/pseuds/TBCat
Summary: They say the fisherman that steals the selkie's skin can keep the selkie as their bride. What happens when you give a selkie their skin back?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a short and sweet dongjun oneshot... It has somehow turned into a plotty, x4 longer than expected, unreliable narrator!Jun real!fic.
> 
> Enjoy!

The rain is soft. The sun is barely risen, and for now the streets outside his window are moist and dewy. By noon the small city will be awash with heat and the morning moisture will have risen to join the clouds. Jun draws a smiley face in the condensation of his shower before getting dressed for the day. 

His apartment is small, cramped, and barren. However, the small street it lets out onto slopes down to a charming bakery filled with fresh bread and nutty, sugary treats. Jun walks to work to justify his systematic trial of every baked good Sehyoon sells in his store. On the way he stops to greet the sidewalk hedges, and tell them about his dreams. In the winter they complain about the cold, but during the summer they are content to laze about. 

Another three blocks away is the local shopping center, filled with chain stores, shiny glass, and fast food restaurants. Jun turns left to a strip of smaller stores past them. Here lies the bootleg DVD sellers. Here is the store where Jun gets his clothing hemmed or buys the latest knock-off purse for his sister. Here is his thrift shop, with its carefully painted lettering on the glass and squeaky front door. Jun unlocks the door and opens his shutter as he prepares for the day to begin.

He has to sweep and wipe the counters. He opens the cash register last, because he usually doesn't get customers until school lets out, at least. He takes a key to check the donation bin out front, even though it's usually empty for months at a time. 

Today it is not empty. Today, someone has dropped an item into the bin without even putting it into a box or bag. Jun shakes it out and worries whether they donated it on purpose or were trying to throw it out. 

They definitely weren't trying to throw it out. 

Jun stares in surprise at the elegant coat. It is cut like a man's jacket, and is made of some sort of clearly waterproof fabric that Jun is unfamiliar with. The fur ruff at the neck and wrists is impossibly soft. Jun carefully folds the jacket and places it on his counter. Then he takes a post-it, writes that he will be back soon, and leaves the note on his door. 

A quick trip to the seamstress next door, and Jun returns with a borrowed steam cleaner. He stumbles his way through a superficial cleaning of the jacket, and puts it with the other high-value items behind the counter to sell. He's almost reluctant to let it go. 

The rest of the day is boring. At least, the rest of the day is normal. The shop is fairly empty. At lunch an entry level office worker stops by looking for cheap jewelry, and Jun tries to help him pick something. He splits the cash between his overhead, profits, and charity. 

After school gets out, the door squeaks open as a handful of curious kids explore the shop with pocket change. Jun gives out a complementary lollipop to the younger kids, and discounts for the older kids based on their grades. After the small rush dies down, one teenager still loiters by the counter. It takes Jun a second to recognize him with his new, fire-red hair. 

"Chan," he greets warmly, "how was school?"

"It was school," Chan shrugs, "but Feeldog introduced a new routine to the club, so." 

"You'll have to show me when you're ready," Jun says with a smile, "your team are such good dancers."

Chan smiles teasingly. Jun sighs preemptively. "With your dance skills, I'm sure anything seems impressive."

"I'm a perfectly good dancer for someone with, oh yeah, absolutely no training."

Chan nods pityingly before he breaks into laughter. Jun reaches over the counter to gently smack the back of his head and laugh with him. 

"So how was your day?" Chan asks, "Same old, same old?"

"Actually someone left something in the donation bin, for once," Jun says with quiet excitement. He pulls out the coat to show to Chan, who is appropriately awed at the rarity of a valuable item being donated to Jun's thrift shop. He gently runs a finger along the coat, but doesn't take it out of Jun's hands. 

"You should keep it," Chan says dreamily. Jun frowns slightly.

"Honestly, I do want to, but if I kept every interesting find that came across the store than I wouldn't be able to keep running the store."

"This is different," Chan says. He hasn't lifted his finger from the jacket, and his eyes are unfocused. "This was meant for you." Sometimes Chan gets weirdly insistent, but everything always happens the way Chan said it would. Jun doesn't waste his time arguing, and just folds the jacket to put with his phone and wallet under the counter. 

When the sky shifts from bright sunlight, clear blue, and distant city smog to the burnished gold of the tired sun Jun begins closing the shop. By the time the sky is shifting from polished gold to a deep amber, Jun is locking the door. He shrugs on the jacket as the summer heat gives way to a chill wind. He walks home to the sounds of sleepy birds and the teasing catcalls of the few trees along the path. Sehyoon has already closed his bakery, but Jun stops to sing a lullaby to the young pot of tulips growing outside the bakery window. 

When he turns onto the hill for his apartment, the sky has shifted to a gentle lavender purple. Further up the street a large man is walking the opposite direction from Jun. He eyes the thin cotton T-shirt and torn jeans of the man in worry that he's cold.

When they get closer to each other in the dim light, Jun can see the stranger eyeing Jun's new coat. He hopes he isn't cold and jealous. Jun balances his instinct against giving the coat to this stranger in need with Chan's insistence that it belonged to Jun. 

He doesn't have time to make a decision. 

The man is a meter away when he suddenly lunges forward and grabs Jun by the shoulders. Jun is whirled around and pushed up against the concrete wall of the house beside them. Jun silently apologizes to his neighbors in shock.

"What are you-"

"Where did you get my coat?" 

The air seems still, and even the gentle good night chatter of the nearby shrubbery has quieted in surprise. 

"What?" 

"The coat. That you are wearing. Belongs to me."

"Oh! Oh, no, I'm so sorry," Jun stammers, "It was in the donation bin, and normally I would have held it an appropriate amount of time before selling it, but Chan insisted, and, well, can you please let me go, and I am so sorry!" 

The stranger's hands immediately and stiffly unlatch from Jun's shoulders. He clenches them in fists at his sides, and doesn't lean out of Jun's space. Jun swallows nervously and eyes the muscles in his hands, his arms, his shoulders. The stranger's eyes are deep pools that threaten to swallow Jun whole. 

"Um, sorry, but, what's your name?" Jun asks. "I'm Park Jun-hee."

The stranger visibly grits his teeth for a moment. The tension in his jaw suddenly releases, and his voice grinds out. "Lee Donghun."

"I apologize," Jun says formally. He bows as much as he can without bumping into or leaning against Donghun. "This is your coat, and does not belong to me." He carefully takes it off and hands it over.

Donghun snatches the coat and carefully, fretfully holds it to his chest. His breathing goes frantic and then slows to carefully deep controlled breaths. He stares at Jun with wide eyes. All the angry tension has left his frame to be replaced by gentle confusion. He looks golden in contrast to the last violet light of dusk. 

"What," Donghun says quietly, "You don't even know me. I don't even know you."

Jun straightens carefully. His eyes are perfectly in line with Donghun's nose. Jun absently wonders where he got his plastic surgery. "It doesn't matter," Jun says determinedly, "I can still do the right thing." He slides out from between Donghun and the wall. Donghun seems frozen by his own thoughts.

Jun walks as quickly as he can to the door of his apartment, and double checks the locks behind him. 

The next morning Jun spends a minute staring through the peephole. The street outside is empty, and the neighbors catty corner have already driven to work; judging by their car's absence from the curb. Jun cracks the door open enough to peer around each side of his door. The mountain ash tree up the street flutters its leaves in quiet laughter. 

The walk to Sehyoon's bakery calms Jun down from the confrontation of last night. He can see Sehyoon leaning against his counter and talking; the other person is hidden behind a stand of daintily wrapped biscotti. Jun walks into the warm, yummy smelling store with a tinkle of the small bell attached to the door.

"Good morning, Jun."

"Good morning!"

Jun walks around to the front counter, where he has been slowly sampling the different croissants Sehyoon makes each morning, and freezes at the sight of the other person in the store. Donghun is wearing a pair of oversized khaki pants instead of jeans, and the coat covers his shirt.

"Hey," Donghun says, "Sorry I was so aggressive." He seems slightly abashed, to Sehyoon's visible amusement. Jun shifts his weight back and considers bolting out of the store. "You know Sehyoon?" he asks.

"He visits Wow Bakery every morning," Sehyoon answers. Jun chews on his lip consideringly. Donghun nods calmly and leans more of his weight against the counter. "It's more than you visit," Sehyoon says. 

"I visit you more than your baking deserves," Donghun says with a small grin. "See you around," he says, and leaves before Jun can. It looks like he waves at Jun on his way out. 

Jun grabs something at random and slides up to the counter. "I think your baking is great," Jun says with a grin. 

Sehyoon laughs. "Thanks, but don't take his teasing seriously. He just travels a lot, and I like to keep him humble." Jun nods and hums in polite agreement. "It was very bold of you to return his coat," Sehyoon says as Jun pays, "Hun was frantic when it was stolen. Kind of you, too, of course."

"Uh, yeah," Jun says, "It was only right. Someone stole it?"

"Of course," Sehyoon says, "Hun wouldn't have let it out of his sight, otherwise." Jun nods and takes his breakfast pastry. He doesn't leave yet, though. "You found it in your donation bin, though? I guess it was a prank, then, instead of someone stealing it for themselves."

"You think someone was trying to prank Lee?"

"I think you've earned the right to call him by his first name. But, yeah, Hun's tongue has always been sharp. He prolly offended Yang, or something."

The name is familiar, but Jun can't place it. He says his farewells, and heads to work. The day is boring, and Chan doesn't show up after school. The day after that, things return to normal, and Jun begins to relax. Chan still doesn't show up, but Jun trusts that he is just busy. 

Jun opens the shop on Saturday for the longest stretch of time, in exchange for closing the store the entirety of Sunday. Just a little before lunch, the door squeaks open, and Jun looks up from his account book to see Chan dragging someone into the store. Jun freezes again, and then carefully forces himself to relax. He trusts Chan.

"I told you that you needed to take the coat with you," Chan says, "otherwise, Donghun would never have gotten it back!"

Jun smiles stiffly. "So you heard what happened, then? You were right; everything worked out for the best."

"Yeah," Chan says, "Donghun is here for some business with my Mom, and I'm showing him around a little until he leaves."

"Welcome to The Ocean: humble second-hand and consignment store." Donghun hides a small laugh at Jun's greeting before smiling at Jun. 

"Thank you," he says, "but why does a teenager spend so much time here?" Donghun leans on Chan's head to clarify who his question refers to. Chan elbows Donghun in the gut to wiggle free. 

"Jun is a friend, and there are always interesting items drifting through the store."

"Chan works here in the summer, and likes to get into the free candy I keep for the younger kids."

"I'm a senior. I'm about to graduate. I'm practically an adult." 

Chan catches up with Jun on the days he missed and his progress with his club. Donghun quietly loiters by the door, and Jun watches him tentatively browse through a few shelves. 

Monday is the start of a new week. Jun wakes early, and grabs the lunch he packed last night on his way out the door. The walk to Sehyoon's bakery is quiet except for the dry complaints of the small lawns.

Donghun exits the bakery as Jun is walking to the door. Jun steps out of his way, but he just smiles and says hello. Donghun even holds the door open for Jun. Inside, Jun picks out a bear claw and greets Sehyoon.

"Don't worry about paying," Sehyoon says with a tired yawn.

"What?"

Sehyoon grins and wiggles his eyebrows, "Hun paid ahead for you."

"Oh."

It happens again. It keeps happening, every day, for the whole week. Donghun leaves the bakery just as Jun is arriving, whether he is early or late, and politely holds the door open. Every day Jun tries to pay, but Sehyoon keeps insisting that Donghun already covered it. Jun brings it up with Chan and is laughed at. 

On Saturday, Jun stops in front of Donghun when he holds the door open. Donghun watches placidly while Jun decides how to confront him. "Come to The Ocean at noon!" Jun insists, "I'll buy you lunch to pay back for breakfast." Donghun agrees bemusedly. Jun ducks into the bakery with a heady mix of adrenaline and satisfaction. 

"Yes, Donghun already covered you, again, you can just stop asking."

"Oh, no, its fine," Jun says cheerily, "I figured out how to pay him back. I'll treat him to lunch, and we'll be even." Sehyoon laughs.

One lunch turns into two. Then Donghun insists on paying Jun back. Soon, Jun starts packing lunch to share over the counter of his store. He trades stories of his worst customers for Donghun's stories of the many different places he has traveled to. 

"So where did you grow up?" Jun asks one day. He's perched on his counter and swinging his legs, while Donghun picks at some kimchi Jun prepped last night. 

"The ocean, of course."

"Is that a joke?" 

Donghun puts down his food. "No, of course not," he says, "I'm a selkie. Where else would I have grown up but in the ocean?"

Jun laughs awkwardly. "A what?"

"A selkie?" Donghun says, as if the words coming out of his mouth makes sense. "A skin-changer? I'm a seal and a human, depending on whether I am wearing my coat and in the water. Jun, you should know this. I can smell your magic, and you obviously knew enough to return my coat."

Jun feels his heart skip a beat. "My magic?" he squeaks. He tries not to think about the sheet of cacti sitting in the kitchen of his apartment after he couldn't stand hearing their whining every time he checked out from the grocery store without buying one. Donghun gives him a look. Jun nervously hops to his feet and begins pacing. 

"Fine, fine!" he hisses. He walks aggressively to the front of the door and flips the sign to 'Closed'. Luckily, the shop is relatively small. Donghun takes a pointedly nonchalant bite of his food. "I knew," Jun rushes back to behind his counter and drops his voice even quieter, "I knew that I wasn't normal. Magic, or, or, or a shinto blessing on the family, or whatever. But, I, I." Jun's voices chokes out and dies. Jun counts his breathes back to a normal tempo. 

"You returned my coat to me. You must have understood that more than just magic existed in the world." Donghun licks his spoon clean and points it at Jun. He seems genuinely confused, either by Jun's words or his sudden anxiety. 

Jun uses a finger to push the spoon out of his face. "I meant it when I said it was only right to return your property. I was trying to live a normal, relaxed," Jun growls, "normal life."

Donghun's face flashes through a quick series of expressions before smoothing into polite focus. "I'm sorry I was the one to make you face this," he says, "but stop acting like magic and all its related facets aren't normal before your words hurt someone."

Jun stares at Donghun's face. He's never looked polite like this with Jun. He's been angry, or bored, or even teasing. When Donghun is excited he smiles and his cheeks dimple. Jun breathes out his panic and thinks about the oak trees in the park calmly discussing the spring storms. "I'm," Jun says carefully, "sorry." He reaches for the stool that normally sits behind his counter and remembers that Donghun is currently sitting on it. "It, uh, the, magic, I guess, runs in my family. I can talk to plants. Well, everyone can talk to plants, but I understand the plants when the talk, but, anyway. Yeah." The tension suddenly leaves Donghun's body, and the sympathy and consideration on his face looks so much more obvious in comparison. Donghun doesn't say anything, but nods to show he has been listening. "Um, so, Seh-ki?" Jun asks. 

Donghun sighs and starts cleaning up his eating utensils. "I hate giving this talk, by the way," he says, "but, first, Magic." Jun nods. "Obviously, Magic has always, and still does exist. Modern mortals like to pretend that Magic is just a gimmick from folktales. What you call magic doesn't really matter, except maybe to a Wordsmith who's entire magic is language-based." Jun just listens instead of arguing, or questioning, or spiraling into a denial driven panic again. "A common group of magic are the many different fae, whose magic is based on change in some form. A selkie is an individual who can shift between a human and seal body." 

"Seal? Like-?"

"Yes, seal, like the sea animal. Every selkie has a coat that enables them to return to the sea, and also," Donghun grits his teeth, "controls their will." "There are practitioners, who use magic to interact with the natural world like you do. And there are, well, I don't know what you would call them, but the different individuals whose magic is internally focused. They could range from the few surviving dragons to clairvoyants like the Kang family."

"So, your coat-" Jun interrupts himself. He feels overloaded with information. "Kang, as in Yuchan?" 

Donghun hums a confirmation before making a show of checking the time. "Oh dear, it looks like I have to go!" Jun watches Donghun rush out the store and sighs through his nose. Donghun left his trash for Jun to clean, too. 

Jun sweeps, even though he already swept that morning. He moves unnecessarily slowly, too, and throws himself into the familiar feeling of tedious cleaning. The after school rush dies out in time for Yuchan to burst through the front door in an unorganized mess. Jun clicks his tongue and starts fixing Chan's open backpack and eschewed clothes.

"Sorry! Sorry, I thought it was gonna be next week," Chan jabbers as Jun wipes dirt off his chin, "and then I fell asleep in math class and heard Hun's half-assed explanation, and-"

"Watch your language," Jun says without thinking, "and, uh, so I guess its true?"

Chan grimaces and nods. Jun listens patiently to stumbled explanations. Then he pulls out a deck of cards he grabbed from a shelf earlier and stashed behind the desk. "I can't believe you conned me into getting assaulted by Donghun," Jun says, "But here's a present you might like more than the usual lollipop." The package is unassuming, and Jun carefully keeps his expression calmly sincere as Chan opens it curiously. 

"These are tarot cards," Chan says as his face falls. Jun giggles and snorts and pushes Chan out the door. The boy should be at his dance club right now. "Before I go!" Chan stalls, "Make sure Hun tells you about Yang next friday!"

Jun succeeds in clearing the store, and locks the door so that he can slide to the floor and hug his knees. He carefully counts his breaths and rebuilds the ashes of his understanding of the world. He makes a sign saying the store is closed, and promises himself to take the day off tomorrow. He can fold the laundry that he has been procrastinating, and invite Sehyoon on a bike ride. Something normal and easy.

Jun purposefully doesn't set an alarm when he goes to bed. However, he wakes up to a repeated ringing buzz and only a slimmer of pink dawn visible through his window. He groans and shuffles to the door, glad he went to bed in an actual pajama set instead of boxers and an old shirt. Donghun is standing outside the door, hands slouched into the pockets of his coat and a grimace on his face. 

"Hello?" Jun yawns. 

Donghun's face smoothes into a small smile. "Good morning," he says, "Can I come in?"

"What."

"The apartment? Can I come in, or do you prefer to have your conversations on your doorstep? Mrs. Kang said I needed to tell you about Yang today or she would double what she is charging me." Donghun leans forward to make it clear he expects Jun to let him in. Jun doesn't have the energy to make a face, so he just turns around and leaves Donghun at the half-open door. Donghun only delays long enough to take off his shoes and hang his coat along the coat rack. Jun tries not to remember what he now knows about that coat. He would hate if a piece of clothing could control him. 

"Chan mentioned you had business with his mom, but I thought Mrs. Kang was a housewife?" Jun asks around a yawn. Donghun stands stiffly in front of where Jun is curled up on his sitting room couch. Jun waves towards the kitchen and tells Donghun to help himself. Donghun rolls his eyes as if it isn't barely past dawn and plods in the right direction. 

"I'm cashing in a favor for room and board from Mrs. Kang, and while she doesn't have a standard business she is willing to do Predictions for the informed." Jun jumps in his seat when he hears a sudden clang of pots and muttered curses. "I'm fine! Anyway," Donghun deflects, "Most people avoid messing with Clairvoyants; karma is a bit too sensitive to their interactions with people. So, it's a good place for me to lie low right now." 

"And you need to lie low, because?" Jun smells coffee and perks up even as his nose wrinkles. 

"Ah, well," Jun can't see Donghun's face, but he sounds distinctly bashful, "My last job got a little heated, as expected with the Three Courts, and now Fae King Yang Hyunsuk is causing me trouble?"

"Your job being?" Jun is distracted trying to remember why the name sounds familiar.

"I'm a Mediator."

"Like, you talk to dead spirits?"

"No, like I help settle legal disputes. I technically specialize in magical contracts."

"Oh!" Junhee shouts, "Yang Hyunsuk was the CFO charged with tax evasion, right? What happened to him? He was a faerie?"

Donghun collapses against the worn couch in the seat next to Junhee with two mugs in his hand. "Coffee or tea?" he asks, "and, yes, technically, though Yang was able to wiggle out of the consequences of those charges, of course."

Jun grabs the mug he really wants and hums in delight. He wiggles around to curl up more comfortably on the couch without kicking Donghun on accident. Donghun sighs through his nose and grabs Jun's legs to stretch them out over his own so that Jun can lie down properly. 

"And Yang Hyunsuk," Donghun says, " isn't just a fae. He is The Fae. One of three Kings, which makes him powerful, dangerous, and worst of all, arrogant." 

"You still haven't explained much, but he sounds like a brat," Junhee says as he wakes up. "King," he mutters derisively under his breath.

Donghun hides a smile behind his mug. "Anyway, he broke the terms of a contract, and I was hired to mediate. Contracts are much more binding for the fae, and to break one incurs much harsher consequences. Yang Hyunsuk couldn't blame the other party due to, uh, extenuating factors, but I was an easy target to blame for the resulting drama."

"So, what?" Junhee asked, "Now you have some fairy king mad at you and there is nothing you can do? And why are you telling me?"

"Well, I don't need to do anything. Mrs. Kang has assured me that Burning Sun is almost certain to occur soon, after which the seat of power will turn over. Yang has been losing power steadily over the past few decades, so his attention is mostly limited to petty tricks."

"Based on the way you explained it, stealing your jacket isn't little or petty. Burning Sun?"

"Thanks," Donghun says warmly, while affectionately patting Jun's ankles. His strong hands begin rubbing relaxing circles against the muscle of Jun's heel, and Jun flexes his feet in appreciative response. "That was personally threatening, but ultimately didn't require much magical investmet from Yang. Burning Sun is the name for any change of power in the fae aristocracy. It's normally fairly unpredictable, messy, and dramatic; if I can lay low then Yang will be distracted or taken care of for me."

Jun hums consideringly and stretches further across Donghun's lap. He's surprisingly comfy; soft and warm. Jun twists to set his empty mug on the ground, and gazes at Donghun in sleepy consideration.

"As for why I'm telling you," Donghun says. He sounds nervous, and his ears are bright red. "Well, now that we're engaged it's only fair that I share this kind of information."

Jun falls off of the couch.


	2. Chapter 2

"Excuse me," Jun's voice cracks, but he's too flustered to be embarrassed. He pulls his legs out of Donghun's lap and curls defensively in the corner of his couch.

"You didn't realize," Donghun says flatly. He looks blank; almost disappointed or angry. Jun can tell that he is embarrassed by the bright red of his ears. "In folklore, selkie pelts have been stolen to force us into marriage," he explains stiffly, "but if a pelt is willingly returned to its original owner, it's considered a proposal for a variety of magi-cultural reasons. Of course, that isn't included in standard mortal folklore due to the focus on unwilling selkie brides, but." Donghun is at an obvious, and uncharacteristic, loss of words. 

"So, so," Jun tries to say, "Then, what, I forced you into marrying me?"

"No! Um, it's just a proposal. I was going to ignore it, but then you kept showing up, and, well, I mean. You aren't the worst."

"What does that mean."

"I thought you were courting me, and I was letting you! Why didn't you just reject me?" 

"I wasn't courting you on purpose! Are we engaged or not!"

"Yes!" Donghun yells back, "Please!"

"Fine!"

They let that sit in the air for a moment of overwhelming, shared embarrassment. Junhee can't look away from the plaster of his roof, but he stretches himself back out on his couch. Donghun rests his arms immediately across Jun's legs, but doesn't move them as if he is afraid of drawing Jun's attention. 

"Is that all?" Jun asks. His voice breaks midway through the sentence.

Donghun clears his throat and shrugs. He doesn't say anything else, but he does shift to tangle his legs up with Junhee. Junhee enjoys their shared warmth for a weak willed minute before rolling off the couch and flailing to stand up. 

"Well, uh," Junhee says too loudly, "good talk, but I agreed to go biking with Yoon today, so I can't hang out, sorry." Donghun smoothly shifts to his feet and agrees, of course. Junhee doesn't even have to politely herd Donghun; he quickly makes his own way out of the house instead. 

Junhee shuts his front door and takes sure, confident steps to his bedroom. Then he collapses onto his bed and screams into his pillow. He can hear his cacti laughing all the way from the kitchen. 

The sound of his phone interrupts Jun's well-deserved meltdown. "Why did Mrs. Kang just tell me she thinks you need a friend to check in on you, today, specifically?" Sehyoon asks as soon as Jun answers the phone. 

"Chan's mom? I didn't know she even visited your bakery," Jun chases the mundane distraction as best he can. 

"Oh yeah, we spend our evenings gossiping about you," Sehyoon drawls. "Your glacial seduction of Donghun offers plenty of material."

"Don't even joke about that! Apparently, Hun thought we were-" Jun's words choke off suddenly before he recovers weakly, "uh, dating."

"Wow, uh, no duh."

"Excuse me, it was a very shocking and scary surprise this morning."

"Mhm, I'm so sorry for you. Genuinely," Sehyoon continues when Jun just groans into his pillow instead of answering. "That's why I'm inviting you biking after lunch. Get some air, clear your head, you know."

"The last time we biked together you forgot me, spontaneously biked to the next town entirely for a day-cation, and I got lost in a forest."

"Yeah, yeah, so I'll meet you outside your house at two, then? I'll even handle the food."

"Well, if you insist. Thanks."

"Of course."

Junhee texts an angry face sticker to Chan, and tells him to be nicer to his mom. Chan's string of replies are humorously defensive. Then he wastes the next couple of hours checking his bike and helmet and backpack. Sehyoon normally prefers to stay solitary, and his bike rides are intense. But Jun loves knowing that they're close enough that Sehyoon would slow down and include him just because a mutual acquaintance was worried for Jun. 

Jun lies down for a quick nap and wakes up from a deep sleep to the combination of banging at his door and his phone ringing. He answers the phone as he rolls out of bed.

"I'm outside," Sehyoon says. His voice doubles as Jun opens his front door, "You still alive?"

"Where are we going, even?" Jun asks. Sehyoon steps forward to help Jun carry his bike through the door and to the curb. 

"Just up the mountain and back."

Sehyoon hands Jun a slightly stale breakfast croissant. The ride starts gentle and slow, which is how Jun knows that Sehyoon is actually worried about him. Jun pushes forwards and ups the pace to Sehyoon's normal cruising speed, even as it makes his lungs and legs ache from exertion. 

Then they reach the inclines. Jun grits his teeth in a smile instead of groaning along with the pain in his legs. Sehyoon glances over as he changes gears and Jun pushes to keep up with him. His breath feels short, and Jun counts a pop song in his head to help measure his breathing. 

"Your chain needs oiling," Sehyoon comments. He is barely sweating. Jun looks at the flex of Sehyoon's thighs in his bike shorts and dreams of having that kind of power and stamina. He sadly does not have the air in his lungs to curse Sehyoon out. 

The trail shifts from houses to mountain woodland. The town refers to it as a mountain, but it isn't huge. It's perfect for a day's hike or bike ride. Perfect. When the road turns to reveal the parking lot and picnic stop set up with a view of the sunset, Jun thinks he might cry. He rolls to a stop and stumbles off his bike to collapse on the ground in half-hearted stretches. Sehyoon claims a table and casually sets out food. He doesn't even have helmet hair. 

"I hate you," Jun gasps.

Sehyoon hums in acknowledgement and tosses a bottle of water at Jun. It socks him in the gut where he lies sprawled on the ground. "I brought strawberry shortcake."

"Thank you, I love you, you're the best."

It's a late lunch, practically an early dinner, and Sehyoon isn't very talkative. Jun is glad for a chance to just enjoy his friend's relaxing company. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sehyoon offers halfway through. The nearby trees turn their gossipy attention to listen along.

"No," Jun answers, "I was mostly just surprised. Nothing much is actually changing, I guess." Normally trees react slowly, not out of patience but due to a perspective that spans a lifetime many years longer than Jun's own. However, instead of reacting in anyway to Jun's conversation, the nearby woodland suddenly shifts its entire collective attention with a confusing excited chatter. 

Jun zones out trying to understand what the plantlife are saying. "Jun?" Sehyoon starts to ask. He is interrupted by a crash of breaking foliage. 

"Ow, shit, damn, what the hell? Is this even working right?" 

Jun and Sehyoon stare at the short man across the picnic area. The majority of visitors arrive from the road or hiking trails, but the young man seems to have pushed his way straight out of the thickest possible foliage. He isn't wearing hiking gear, either. Jun looks at his shiny sweatpants, ripped crop top, and yellow fur coat in abject horror. The stranger's hair is actually dyed silver and seems to have glitter brushed into it. 

"Oh, people!" he says excitedly. "Call me BK. And you guys?"

"Ju-"

"What are you doing here," Sehyoon asks flatly before Jun can introduce himself. Jun is used to Sehyoon shutting down or avoiding social interaction. This isn't Sehyoon being shy, though. Sehyoon is almost aggressive. 

"I asked first," BK says cheekily. 

"I agree to your terms," Sehyoon says coldly. "You may call me Wow, and him Ocean." Jun kicks Sehyoon under the table for the bad joke. Sehyoon doesn't flinch.

BK shrugs with a pout. "I guess that counts. I'm here for him, of course." BK points at Jun, and Jun's eyes go wide with surprise. The trees gasp and gossip appreciatively at the drama, which doesn't help Jun understand what is happening. 

"The fae have no claim to this land, nor the people that live on it," Sehyoon says decisively. Jun jerks his head around to stare at Sehyoon in shock. "Later," he hisses to Jun. Jun bites his tongue to hold back his questions and reminds himself that he can trust Sehyoon. 

BK stalks forward. "And do you admit to belonging to this land, Ocean?"

"Yes," Jun says. Sehyoon's steady stare gives no hint if Jun gave the right answer, but several generations of his family have grown up here. Jun has never even imagined a life where he left his home. 

BK's smile falls. "Before using force I have been granted approval to oversee negotiations. You are invited to appear before the Three Courts, Ocean." 

"You have not presented the terms of the request," Sehyoon interjects.

"The terms are to the discretion of the inviter."

"You are willing and able to guarantee safe passage in a timely manner, as determined by the invited, then." 

"I am willing, but unable." BK grits out.

"I decline the request on Ocean's behalf."

BK suddenly smiles and laughs. "Oh, now I get it!" he says with a clap of his hands. "You must be inexperienced in all this, or Ocean would just decline the request himself. That's fine, though. I'm sure I can convince you both to accompany me."

"You misunderstand," Sehyoon says. He suddenly switches from focused stillness to predatory relaxation. "I am the authority of this land," Sehyoon speaks around a yawn. 

BK rolls his eyes to show that he's ignoring Sehyoon. The trees laugh with a rustle and urge each other to "Watch the child challenge the cloud-squeezer." Jun glances quickly at the forest and back at BK as he waves his hand in a syncopated flourish. A series of lines scores itself into the dirt around Jun and Sehyoon's table, and the air feels stiff in Jun's lungs. Sehyoon waves a hand through the air like he's swatting a fly. There is a high pitched whining sound and Jun's eyes spot with light. BK is several meters closer and doing his best to loom over Jun and Sehyoon despite seeming even smaller in height. The glitter Jun noticed in his hair now seems to be painted across random swathes of BK's skin, and Jun can see a pair of iridescent wings like a dragonfly's arching out behind him. Jun screeches and collapses off the picnic table bench. 

"Oops," Sehyoon says unconvincingly, "I accidentally knocked down your glamour, too."

"Who are you," BK demands flatly.

"In exchange for that information, you will stay on this mountain top for three days and three nights," Sehyoon demands.

"Maybe I would agree to that deal for your name," BK argues.

"You will agree to this deal or I will trap you forcefully." 

"I agree to stay on this mountain for as long as your information is worth, or until you personally release me, whichever comes first," BK offers sweetly.

"Deal," Sehyoon accepts. BK frowns at Sehyoon's confidence. "Legend tells of an Imugi that lived on this mountain long before people crawled out of the mud. By the time man learned the secrets of agriculture, the Imugi had grown long enough to stretch up into the clouds and squeeze their water out to help the crops grow. Within several generations the humans had learned to revere and thank the serpent that watched the mountain. Of course, humans have short memories, and eventually the Imugi reached the end of its lifespan and was reborn as a dragon. But those with magic in their veins might realize that the serpent's descendents still hold claim to this land."

"You're a dragon?" Jun interrupts incredulously. 

"Not yet," Sehyoon shrugs.

BK huffs. "A deal is a deal." He strides forward to collapse on the bench next to Sehyoon. Sehyoon lets him and calmly finishes eating.

"Uhhh, excuse me, what the hell!" Jun shouts with a gesture at BK.

Sehyoon shrugs. BK mirrors him. "I'm stuck here by the terms of the deal, and I can't drag you in front of The Courts to play hostage for YG. Honestly, though, ew, so I'm not gonna complain," BK explains. 

"Why?" Jun stammers.

"Because you're engaged to Lee, and YG is still determined to get recompense from him." BK answers promptly. Then he grabs the last strawberry milk.

"Hey!" Jun exclaims. "And that explains nothing."

"It's only fair that I get something for answering your question," BK retorts, "but I'm not sharing my quality rumors and suspicions just for your leftovers."

"I'll feed you for the duration of your time on this mountain in exchange for your assistance in dealing with YG," Sehyoon offers. 

"Deal," BK says brightly. "Well, the whole court was present when Lee embarrassed YG, which is probably why YG is so determined to get revenge. Still, normally he would be distracted by now or have taken direct action. Of course," BK pauses to lean closer, "rumor has it that Lee is just a distraction for the court from something that actually threatens YG's reign."

"Don- uhm, Lee embarrassed YG? And what do you think?" Jun asks awkwardly. 

BK smirks, "Hopefully you're aware that Lee is a Mediator? During a recent case presented to the court, YG implied that he had outlawed a fashion that he, in fact, had once started. Lee corrected him, bluntly even, which," BK starts laughing. "It was hilarious, and of course completely disrespectful even if it was in Lee's rights." He pauses to fidget thoughtfully. "I think," he says, "that it is a distraction. Sure, I could maybe have tricked you into coming to the court with me, but there are plenty of members actually sworn to YG that could have been assigned to this task. I'm not even technically a full member of The Courts, yet; YG bought out one of my few contracts just for my promise to try everything in my power to retrieve Ocean."

"He must be distracted if he didn't notice that wording," Sehyoon comments. BK snaps his fingers and points at Sehyoon in excited agreement. 

"And the clairvoyants have collectively agreed not to give any foresight to fae informants that approach them," BK continues excitedly. "Clairvoyants already hate sharing with the fae, and especially when The Courts are dealing with big changes. My guess is another war between the Three Kings is brewing."

"Maybe," Sehyoon interrupts, "We'll leave now, though."

"Ah, well," BK pouts, "don't stay away. I'll be stuck up here. All alone."

Sehyoon is silent. Jun stumbles away from the picnic table to grab his bike. "Uh, but," Jun tries to say.

"We'll talk back home," Sehyoon says, "Ocean."

Jun grits his teeth instead of arguing. BK's eyes are darting back and forth between them curiously. Sehyoon jumps on his bike and leads Jun down the path at a brisk pace.

Sehyoon leads them to Jun's house, and Jun watches him lock his bike outside his door. Jun strides forward to open his door and wave Sehyoon forward before him. Sehyoon ambles into Jun's house and heads comfortably to Jun's dining table. Jun slams the door closed behind him to follow Sehyoon. 

"What the!" he shouts. "You! How! What?" 

Sehyoon sits carefully around Jun's table. "I am the latest in a long lineage of Imugi, similar to how you are the latest in a long lineage of green witches," he says. "I never mentioned it because it never mattered before."

"Never mattered! You're a fucking dragon! I'm accidentally engaged to a selkie, dammit! I thought we knew everything about each other," Jun screeches as he pulls at his hair.

"You never brought it up yourself, and I've always trusted you to make your own decisions in life," Sehyoon says firmly, "don't take out your stress on me."

Jun kicks the foot of his couch. It scratches the floor and scoots backwards slightly. Junhee curses and curls up in an aborted motion to grab his toes from pain. He spins back around and collapses on the couch. "You're right," he says, "I'm sorry. But, by the way, apparently Donghun and I are engaged, and I can talk to plants but it isn't just a family quirk and it feels like my entire life is hanging even though nothing has actually changed." Jun trails off into a drawn out groan. 

Sehyoon moves to sit next to Jun and pat his leg in silent sympathy. Jun's whining is interrupted by a knocking at the door. Sehyoon gets up to answer it.

"It's Chan and your fiance," Sehyoon shouts mercilessly. Jun resumes groaning as he hears them troop in. 

"Everything is your fault," Jun says as he points vaguely towards the door. 

"You just gestured at both of us?" Chan asks.

"Yes." 

"Sorry, is this," Donghun asks carefully, "about our talk this morning?"

Sehyoon answers, "YG sent a fae to capture Junhee as hostage. Oddly enough, they were an uninitiated from JYP's court."

"Did you agree to anything?" Donghun demands as he rushes towards Junhee. Junhee groans and doesn't get up from his sprawl on the couch. This was supposed to be his day off.

"No, Sehyoon handled it perfectly," Chan reassures Donghun. "Also, and listen to this too Jun, the fae courts should forget all about Hun and Jun after today." Sehyoon is obviously interested in Chan's news. Junhee reluctantly peeks out from behind his arms to pout at Chan.

"Knight B.I. and King YG have killed each other in the first round of the Burning Sun tourney."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I going to explain the "Burning Sun" deus ex machina? I don't expect to, but feel free to ask. :P
> 
> There is a (Byeongkwan focused) sequel planned, but I doubt I will get to it any time soon.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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